Enhancing student employability, leadership and enterprise

Curriculum, as well as extra-curricular, enhancement for employability, leadership and enterprise including expansion of work-related learning A key focus of development work through the CETL has been focused on how the curriculum, both content and delivery, can support the enhancement of students’ employability, leadership and enterprise. The expansion and diversification of work-related learning has led to the creation of student-led authentic work environments such as JMUpStart Dance Company, as well as opportunities for students to undertake work-derived ‘live’ projects that have meaningful outcomes for both students and employers/external organisations. Whole programme approaches to Personal Development Planning have also been developed along with student and tutor resource materials. The importance of the transition into HE as a means of engaging students in their academic as well as personal development has also been recognised. Extra-curricular arrangements for students’ learning and development are also being brokered through CETL-based

Project Title/Overview	Description of the project/initiative	Contact	Related topics	Evidence/output
Developing a curriculum model for employability	Through comprehensive programme review, the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences transformed their approach to supporting students’ personal and career development through the curriculum. This case study presents the 3 level model of the developing employability.	Mark Scott	Work-related learning	PDP/Graduate Skills guide. PDP_GUIDE_2007.pdf
Supporting the Transition into HE learning	Recognising the importance of the first year experience in students’ future learning and motivation, this project sought to radically transform the induction process – moving from 1 week to 5 week Induction - to better support students in making the transition into HE learning.	Sarah Nixon	First Year Experience	HEA case studies A change from induction to transition, can this affect student engagement and learning? feb08_transition.pdf Changing induction to transition for L1 students: a staff perspective: feb08_induction_transition.pdf Using movies to stimulate learning in sport subjects: feb08_movies.pdf Cock, D., Mitchell, B., Nixon, S., Walker, C., Walsh, B. & Zaitseva, E. Understanding student engagement: evaluation of an intensive five-week transition programme CETL_Journal_No1.pdf
Developing new approaches to Personal Development Planning	Personal Development Planning plays an important role in aiding students’ learning and career development. Work has been done through the CETL to develop a model of PDP that runs throughout a student’s programme and which addresses individuals’ personal, professional as well as academic development. A Student and Tutor Resource Pack as well as Learning Journeys DVD have been developed to support staff and students.	Sarah Nixon	PDP Reusable Learning Resources	Nixon, S. & Walker, C. (2009) PDP: Inspiring capability. Case Study: nixon_walker.pdf Learning Journeys DVD Presentation at the LJMU Teaching and Learning Conference, 2008 Champion Lives: Mapping and Modelling Successful Pathways

Project Title/Overview	Description of the project/initiative		Contact	Related topics	Evidence/output
Expansion and diversification of work-related learning	JMUpStart	Offered as curriculum-based work-based learning, this student-led dance company provides authentic experience of the professional work environment.	Angela Walton Track Dinning	Student enterprise, work-related learning, student company	JMUpstart: cetl_case_study.pdf Paper presented at the WACE Symposium, November 2006, London JMUpStart: full paper_submission CETL Evaluation report JMUpStart: 2009 evaluation JMUpStart: Case Study
	Live projects	Adding to traditional work-based learning placements are work-derived live projects. Here students, individually or in groups, work together to resolve a ‘live’ work-derived project.	Sarah Nixon Track Dinning	Work-related learning	Case study presented at the E-Evolve Enhancing Employability Conference, September 2007, Preston Live Projects- Extended case study CETL Evaluation reports Live Projects- PE Live Projects- Sport Dev results Live Projects- Providers Feedback
	Sport Start	A model for building and strengthening relationships with employers/external organisations as well as providing students with curricular and extra-curricular work-based learning has been developed through Sport Start.	Track Dinning	Work related learning	Sport Start Case Study
	Liverpool Screen School Production Unit	The Liverpool Screen School Production Unit aims to build on existing relationships and develop new networks with partners, both within LJMU and the broader community in Merseyside, by giving students the opportunity to use their learning in areas such as media production and journalism within ‘real world’ practice.	Jenny Jones	Skills development, Employability, Student company, Work related learning	Liverpool Screen School Production Unit Liverpool Screen School

Project Title/Overview	Description of the project/initiative	Contact	Related topics	Evidence/output
Model of reflective practice within the professional teaching of sport psychology	Developing reflective practice is an important aspect of encouraging students’ self awareness, particularly in relation to their strengths and weaknesses and areas for development. The paper presents a model of reflective practice adopted at the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences.	Zoe Knowles	Reflective learning, PDP	Publication in the LJMU Teaching and Learning Press Reflective_practice_LTPress_Vol_8
Use of ‘magical spelling’ techniques to support students’ written communication skills	Communication skills are an important aspect of enhancing student employability, as well as academic performance. Magical Spelling techniques have been used as a means of supporting student writing skill development.	Track Dinning Sarah Nixon
Student Enterprise Fellowships	Building on from support provided within the curriculum exploring entrepreneurialism, funding has been made available to students who wish to pursue their own small business/enterprise ideas.	Track Dinning

Project Title/Overview	Description of the project/initiative	Contact	Related topics	Evidence/output
JMUp(In)tegrated collaborative approaches to learning and teaching through peer support networks, for able bodied and disabled dancers	This project is aimed at broadening students’ experiences as well as challenging assumptions and expectations through dance. Here able-bodied as well as disabled dancers come together to perform with and learn from each other	Darren Carr		Information about the project www.ljmu.ac.uk/ECL/cetl/97006.htm
Game of Life	As part of the Sport Development course a role playing game ‘Game of Life’, assisting students in reflecting on their life goals has been developed and used effectively within a PDP module at Level 1 for a number of years. This project is aiming to transfer the entire game in to computer format, thus increasing accessibility to staff and students. Stage 1 involves developing its interface, adding content and piloting the software.	Adam Heatherington Cath Walker	PDP, life goals and career development	Game of Life video demonstration
Learn2Support: Developing Students as Learning Mentors	The project sought to develop a peer support scheme where trained students from upper levels provide learning support to their peers (with a particular focus on support of students with disabilities). This is being done through online (e.g. dedicated Blackboard area, blog for students to network) and face to face interaction.	Phil Vickerman	Equality and diversity, student support, mentoring	Hearing the voices of disabled students in higher education - paper published in the Disability and Society Journal, 25(1), 2010 www.informaworld.com/

Project Title/Overview	Description of the project/initiative	Contact	Related topics	Evidence/output
‘Voice’ Project - enhancing sports students’ ability to communicate, within and beyond the curriculum	Communication is an important aspect of graduate employability. Knowing how best to address individuals’ needs in this area both in terms of time and techniques is something that academic staff often struggle with. This project sought to use student-student peer coaching as a means of providing more tailored support. Performing arts students, with their particular skills in communication, were chosen to provide the peer-coaching.	Sarah Nixon Elizabeth Clifford Elena Zaitseva	Peer coaching Staff-student partnerships	Enhancing Sports Students ability to communicate communicate.pdf
Engaging students in the learning process, through a student led conference	The development and implementation of a student-led conference provided opportunities for both staff and students to reflect on how such student-led activities might be further developed in the future.	Cath Walker Danny Cullinane		HEA case study am_i_bovvered.pdf
Longitudinal data collection of graduating students’ perceptions of skill development and career prospects	The CETL Skills and Career Prospects Questionnaire was initiated in 2006 as a longitudinal study aiming to collect baseline data related to CETL graduates perceptions of their employability. This report attempts to identify and measure, where possible, effects of the CETL interventions on students’ personal, academic and professional development.	Elena Zaitseva		CETL evaluation report CETL_report4years

Project Title/Overview	Description of the project/initiative	Contact	Related topics	Evidence/output
Opportunity knocks: The voices of first year Event Management students in relation to work related learning and employability	Cetl funding was used to support this research in a different subject area. Students need to relate academic theory to real life practice and, at an early stage in their personal and professional development, take control for their own individual independent learning. The project will seek out the “voices” of the students via a voluntary sampling individual questionnaire and semi- structured interviews. The world of work related learning has evolved and now offers all kinds of opportunities to integrate study with work. This research seeks to identify the benefits/drawbacks of real life work related opportunities, from both a cohort and individual perspective and tease out themes and use the findings to review the curriculum of the Event Management degree commencing 2010.	Philip Williamson	Work related learning, Research into employability	Opportunity Knocks Case Study Online questionnaire has been developed and completed by students. It is intended to disseminate findings at future related themed conferences.
A study to assess the effectiveness of Enterprise Development at the School of Engineering, Technology and Maritime Operations	The debate about skills is inextricably linked to the performance of the UK economy as a whole and indeed, importantly for LJMU, the performance of the local economy is vital. It is essential that graduates are retained in Merseyside to ensure their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of the region. LJMU has taken the decision to focus on Employability and WOW skills by incorporating them into the curriculum. In addition to the supply of highly skilled workers the economy also needs new business start ups to provide employment and prosperity for the country. The theme of this research is employability and enterprise. The aim is to find out if the module Enterprise Development meets its dual aims of increasing the skills of students and o increasing their knowledge about the business start up process, so that they may consider this as a career option in the future.	Bridget Price	Related topics, Skill development, Team working, Employability, Entrepreneurship	It is anticipated that this approach will be adopted by other teaching staff in future as the limited responses that we receive via the online student module appraisal does not provide sufficient detail to enable us to enhance student learning. Case Study
LEGO PROJECT at Liverpool Screen School	CETL funding was used to pilot Lego Serious Play and evaluate its use as a teaching and learning tool with students on different levels of the Media Professional Studies and the Journalism programmes. LJMU staff were trained as facilitators taking part in the same seminar activities that students would go through. Everyone actively participated in construction and storytelling about their models. Those who took part are convinced that Lego makes a substantial contribution to learning and teaching experiences and of its transferability to any discipline	Alex Irving	Self-awareness, Creativity, Reflective learning, Work-related learning	LEGO Project Case Study

Page last modified by Gaia Onza on 15 March 2012.

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